Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Ps. 60: By God's Pleasure

Psalm 60:4 "But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow."

David recognizes that if Israel is being blessed and doing well, it is because of God's grace. If Israel is struggling, it is because of God's displeasure. How to restore this pleasure? We already know. Putting aside the sins and failures, and coming before God with a contrite heart. Not mere sacrificing. A true and pure heart of repentence. This restores the relationship on both ends.

When the psalmist mentions a banner that represents those who fear God, to me that means it crosses the borders. The family of God isn't bound inside one nation, or tribe. They are united to God's family first. It is God who parcels out the land, who draws the borders, and who goes before and conquers, providing a place to live for His people. 

Simply, without God, any man's conquering army is useless. With God, there is no limit to possible success.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Ne. 8: Ezra Renews the Covenant

Nehemiah 8:12 "Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."

Ezra (not Nehemiah) gets up and reads the book of the law, which was probably the law given to Moses...Exodus through Deuteronomy. Nehemiah may have been the one taking charge...the ruler, the leader, as it were, but it was Ezra who was God's conduit to the people at this point.

As the book of the law is read, again there is open weeping as what was unknown or is ignored is brought to light. Pretty much everytime the covenant is renewed or God's word is discovered. It's pretty emotional. It's a recognition that what you were doing all along was breaking the heart of someone who loved you...whether or not you realized what you were doing was wrong. And it didn't matter if you realized or not.

What was buried was uncovered.

But Ezra says "Don't cry, dry your eye!" This was a time for celebration! The people had to be repeatedly told not to despair. They moved into booths, commemorating their temporary housing as they exodused from Egypt. It was the Feast of Tabernacles. Nehemiah describes this celebration as unlike any in Israel's history since it was celebrated by Joshua, who appears to be the last leader to actually pay attention to what was commanded.

I think this was probably a great time to do this. The people had worked hard to get things back in order, rebuilding the temple, the wall, their lives. It was time to re-emphasize the fact that God was firmly in charge of their provisions. Even in Israel's darkest years, God still looked over them, still watched out for them. And here, with the nation in disarray and confusion, and lacking that sense of history that probably permeated the people before the exile, they could cling to the hope God would give them.

Monday, September 29, 2008

2 Ki. 23: Josiah's 180

2 Kings 23:22 "Not since the days of the judges who led Israel, nor throughout the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, had any such Passover been observed."

The kingship in Judah looks like a turnover-filled football game. One king will run Judah one way, another king will immediately run it back the other way. And with fervor. No kings appear to just be go-to-work type kings. Either they are ardently for the LORD, or against. And passionately so, and it appears to be tied to religion.

What Josiah does to turn Judah back to the LORD reads like a religious who's who of the idols and practices of the day. Judah, in their polytheism, basically did it all. Baal. Asherah. Starry hosts. High places. Child sacrifice to Molech. The sun, Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Ashtoreth. The mediums, the spiritists, the household gods and the idols. He went so far as to slaughter the priests of the idols, and burn them on the altars meant for these other gods.

Then he commanded the celebration of Passover. Which sounds familiar, but hasn't even been mentioned since Joshua 5. commentary Like a thousand years ago.

But the LORD was still angry because of Manasseh, and despite Josiah's efforts to remove and destroy these things, Josiah was out of luck, and was killed by the Pharaoh when he took Judah to war. Josiah was even described as following the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength (Dt. 6:5). What was the reason for this? Why did the seemingly innocent Josiah have to pay for the actions of Manasseh and those before him? And Judah, the land of David would be subject to the same judgement as Israel.

Jehoahaz is Josiah's replacement, but is imprisoned by Pharaoh Neco so he could rule from Jerusalem. Basically an evil king, he turns Judah back around. Jehoahaz dies in captivity, and Josiah's next son, Eliakim is put on the throne by Neco, but is given the name Jehoiakim for some reason. Jehoiakim paid Neco protection money from the taxes. Jehoiakim was evil too.

And I react to this thusly. If God had allowed Josiah to keep ruling, perhaps Judah wouldn't have fallen into these evil kings this soon. But, probably, someone would have. And the hard truth of it is, Judah was in need of judgement, the way God saw it. And Josiah was the unfortunate innocent bearer of blood.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Ge. 12: A great nation...thanks to a hot wife.

So after dad dies, Abram was told by God to leave his country, his people, and his father's household, and go to this land somewhere. Probably the last thing on your mind right after your old man kicks off is leaving the grieving.

"Where, God?" asks Jon-if-he-were-Abram.
"Relax, I'll show you," answers the LORD.
"Ugh, it better be sweet."
"Don't worry, Jon-if-he-were-Abram. It will be."


So God tells Abram the following:

"I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

That does sound like a pretty sweet deal. Sweet enough for me to move after my dad's death. Probably not the reason Abram moved. Something tells me Abram would have done it, blessing or no blessing. But this is quite a promise. I can't wait to see how God fulfills this one.

So the 75-year-old Abe takes off, brings his hot wife, and his brother Haran's son, Lot. Since Haran died, I'm guessing Abram took Lot on as a son, loaded up the mules, and the "people they had acquired in Haran." Slaves probably. Or servants. Hired Hands...I'unno. Slavery bad. So they go to Canaan. And what do you know, they get there.

So Abram goes as far into Canaan as the "great tree of Moreh at Shechem." Verse 6 was apparently written by JRR Tolkien. The significance of this tree is not known to me at this point in my reading, but probably it had some meaning to the Canaanites or...Shechemites?

Then God appears out of nowhere, (mind freak!) and says, "To your offspring, I will give this land." Out of his thanksgiving, Abram builds an altar right there to God. Later, he moved on into some hills between Bethel and Ai, and worships God. Then he moves on to Negev. This guy is making serious tracks. I wonder if he was collecting those etched glass cube things with 3D bubbles inside that look like things.

Then a famine causes him to move down to Egypt. Pharaoh's reputation must have been pretty awful when it came to old dudes with hot wives, so it goes down like this. He tells Sarai (and probably everyone with him) to act like Sarai is his sister. You'd hate to miss the memo on that one and blow it at an inopportune time.

"Hey Abram, why's your wife hanging out with Pharaoh so much?"
"My wife? Why...you know she's my sister."
"Your sister? You married your sister?"
And then Pharaoh would butt in all authoritatively, demanding to know what the meaning of this is.


Sure enough, the Egyptians run and tell Pharaoh that there's this hot chick that's new to the area, and she's with her...overly affectionate brother and a bunch of people and some kids and stuff. Whether or not Abram expected the royal treatment from Pharaoh with receiving sheep and cattle, donkeys and servants...I don't know. I don't want to be cynical about the guy, but he already is lying. (Yes, God blesses those who lie anyway). I'm not going to let my sins get me too down, because Abram was hardcore blessed in spite of his weaknesses, and lack of faith that God would pull him through this.

If God was going to make a great nation out of me, I guess I'd trust him with the life of my wife.

Because of this deception, God inflicted the Pharaoh and his household with "serious diseases." Presumably either poison ivy or AIDS. Pharaoh, though he was punk'd by some nomad wanderer, was no dummy. He knew it was probably Sarai at the root of his problems. In his anguish, he begged Abram, "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Go away." So Pharaoh tells Abram and his men to hit the road.

I think this little vignette at the end reminds of all the times I've needlessly worried about something that, at the time, I thought was going to be all earth-shattering, but turns out to be quite harmless, and that it is OK to trust God through those situations. When I get there, and am going through it...sure it can be tough, but it's never as bad as my sense of dread creates it to be.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Ge. 9: "Hey fellas, Dad's naked again!"

There are a couple of seemingly distinct stories in chapter 9. The first is the blessing and charge bestowed upon Noah and his sons as they left the ark. The second, a rather tawdry tale of what happens when you don't know when to say "When."

What I find most interesting about verse 1 is that it says God "blessed" Noah and his sons when he told them to be fruitful and multiply. He didn't "command" them. He didn't suggest it. What a blessing indeed it must be to know that you will be the root of the entire world's family tree. Also, it is a blessing to be able to do what God tells you to do. Amazing to get a command directly from God's mouth. And just in case Noah and his boys miss the point, God repeats it again in verse seven.

God puts the fear of man into all living creatures. Ah. This must be why birds frantically take flight when I approach to within 200 yards of them, and though I wish them no particular ill will. Maybe this "fear and dread" is similar to how we see God. I think animals in some way recognize just how special we humans are. Encountering humans is an awe-inspiring thing for them...in that they are in awe of God. And maybe this fear and dread comes from that fact that in verse 3, God tells Noah that animals are now food, where they weren't before.

It is with this point, we are shown God's reverence for life, as the command is given not to eat meat still containing the lifeblood. Does it mean that we can't have a steak cooked rare? Does it mean we can't start consuming the flesh of something while it is still alive? I lean toward both. Blood is precious, and is used for life, not for food. If God didn't want us eating something while it was still alive, I'm guessing he would have said something about the breath of life, not merely the blood of life. I still find the idea of biting into a living, breathing, bleeding thing monstrous, but that's not the explicit command here.

God says He (not she) demands an accounting for our lifeblood. Every single life is precious, and is not to be wasted. Not only human life, animal life. Each living creature from man down to...I don't know, fleas...counts for something.

The end of verse 6 could be read as "Whoever sheds the blood of (the image of God), by (the image of God) shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man. Whenever I see "man" in the Bible, I am being trained to see "the image of God." Even Canadians? Especially Canadians.

Now we get to a covenant...a promise...a vow. Not only is it between God and Noah (man) and his descendants, it includes every living creature on earth. God promised us and them that He would never cut off all life with a flood. A flood would never destroy the earth again. God's in it to win it with the team He has on the field now. How would we be reminded of this covenant? A rainbow. Whenever there is a raincloud, and a rainbow appears, God will remember His covenant. Now we can see reminders in waterfalls and sprinklers too. Scientists for the most part have figured out what physically causes a rainbow. But it doesn't explain away the miracle of or diminish the purpose of its creation.

Verse 18 begins the antics of the house of Noah.

Noah planted a vineyard, and had too much to drink one day. He got drunk and got naked. Some would say he was the first Irishman. Ham came in and saw his dad laying there all wasted. (Whether or not he completely passed out is debatable. At any rate, he would have been primed for a serious chiefing.) He came out and told his brothers. Well, they, appearing to take the high road, walked in backwards and covered Noah with a garment.

When Noah "awoke from his wine" or sobered up (in my estimation), he found out what his youngest son had "done" to him. Whatever Ham did was enough to to bring the curse of inferiority and slavery of his descendants (Canaan) to those of his older brothers. If all Ham did was "see" his father naked, and not do anything about it, it would seem Noah went nuclear over nothing. Cursing one's descendants, who are in actuality your descendants, is big-time. We don't know if Ham wrote all over him with a Sharpie or did something much more...sinister. Moving on...

"Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers."

"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem!"

"May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."

My dad has had to scold me before. But never has he wished that my brother Jim's descendants enslave mine.

And Noah lived to the ripe old age of 950. Which means he died circa 1996.

And then he died.

Questions for God:
1. Why do we get to eat animals now?
2. What...never mind, I'm not sure I want to know what happened in verse 22.
3. To what extent are animals sentient in regards to their understanding of who you are? And how advanced are we in comparison to them, if at all...?